ABSTRACT

Introduction: Although life-threatening if left untreated, visceral leishmaniasis (VL) is still a neglected endemic disease in 98 countries worldwide. The number of drugs available is low and few are in clinical trials. In the last decades, efforts have been made on the development of nanocarriers as drug delivery systems to treat VL. Given the preferential intracellular location of the parasite in the liver and spleen macrophages, the rationale is sturdy. In a clinical setting, liposomal amphotericin B displays astonishing cure rates.

Areas covered: A literature search was performed through PubMed and Google Scholar. We critically reviewed the main literature highlighting the success of nanomedicine in VL. We also reviewed the hurdles and yet unfulfilled promises rising awareness of potential drawbacks of nanomedicine in VL.

Expert opinion: VL is a disease where nanomedicines successes shine through. However, there are a lot of obstacles on the road to developing more efficient strategies such as targeting functionalization, oral formulations, or combined therapies. And those strategies raise many questions.

摘要

简介：尽管如果不及时治疗会危及生命，内脏利什曼病 (VL) 在全球 98 个国家仍然是一种被忽视的地方病。可用的药物数量很少，很少有药物处于临床试验阶段。在过去的几十年中，人们一直在努力开发纳米载体作为治疗 VL 的药物递送系统。鉴于寄生虫在肝脏和脾脏巨噬细胞中的优先细胞内位置，理由是坚定的。在临床环境中，脂质体两性霉素 B 显示出惊人的治愈率。

涵盖的领域：通过 PubMed 和 Google Scholar 进行了文献检索。我们批判性地回顾了突出纳米医学在 VL 中的成功的主要文献。我们还回顾了障碍和尚未兑现的承诺，提高了人们对 VL 中纳米医学潜在缺点的认识。

专家意见：VL是一种纳米药物成功的疾病。然而，在开发更有效的策略（例如靶向功能化、口服制剂或联合疗法）的道路上存在许多障碍。这些策略引发了许多问题。